Finally!

 Mike and I were lounging about on my couch, watching a movie when my phone buzzed. It was Molly. Mike was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and I was wearing my fuzzy pajama pants and a long-sleeved sleep shirt.

“Is everything okay?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, Molly’s hotline shift was cancelled so she told me she’s going to say over at Calvin’s tonight.”

“So…she’s not going to be here until tomorrow.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“Yeah.” I said not catching on.

“As in, we have the whole place to ourselves tonight and neither one of us has to work or anything?”

“Yeah…” It finally clicked.

Mike and I looked at each other before we both hopped off the couch and sprinted to my bedroom, throwing off clothes as we went. Honestly, the first time went by very quickly but I think that was because we were both so ready to finally have sex with each other that we just rushed through it before we could be interrupted again. It was okay but not nearly as good as the second, third or fourth times we had sex later that night (and the following morning). Mike has incredible stamina and the body of a fireman which is also a definite perk.

He was showering in my bathroom when I woke up after a session of intense morning sex and I just kind of laid in my bed and smiled for awhile because it was definitely worth the wait. Eventually I got dressed and made some coffee. Molly was still out from what I could tell but I kicked the clothes we’d pulled off  in the living room into my room so the living room wasn’t a mess. Mike came out right after the coffee finished brewing, he had a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Ahhh, coffee.” He said pouring us both a cup. He kissed my head and then joined me at the table for some bagels.

“I need it. I Didn’t get much sleep last night.” I smiled.

Mike laughed.

“Finally!” He said between laughs. I nodded and we both just burst out laughing because “finally” really did sum it up.

“It was worth the wait.” I said.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend the rest of the day together because Mike had to go to work and I had to go talk to Eddie  about some things for the holiday show schedule and tech so Mike left shortly after breakfast. We’re going to dinner tomorrow before I have to go to work at Bruno’s.

To be honest, I’m kind of relieved we’ve finally had sex (and that it was great!). Part of me was worried we’d sort of missed the boat to take things to the next level and were going to be stuck in this weird we’re-in-a-relationship-but-not-serious-enough-that-we’re-having-sex place forever.

In work news, the show was cast about a week and a half ago and we’ve started rehearsals. We’re going to go into tech in about two weeks and then open the show until we close in January. Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to go home for Thanksgiving OR Christmas this year and I’m sure it’s going to just devastate my mom. I’m really not looking forward to telling her.

Sexy Surprise or Bust

Mike called me and told me he had a surprise for me if I came over for dinner last night. I was practically giddy while I was getting dressed because we were SO gonna have sex. I chose a tight black dress and heels that showed off my breasts and put on the sexiest underwear I own. I sent Mike a text that I would be there soon before hailing a cab. In the elevator on the way up to his place I got a mischievous idea and slipped my underwear off.

When I reached his door I knocked and posed myself seductively.

“He”-

“I don’t have any underwear on.” I said before pouncing on him and kissing him. I backed him int the wall next to the door and Mike pulled away.

“Oh, uh…Faith…this is my friend Tony.”

My eyes got wide and I slowly turned around.

There was a tall, dark-haired man standing up between the couch and the coffee table. He waved awkwardly.

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

I was so embarrassed. I smiled and then turned to Mike.

“You couldn’t have mentioned this before?” I angrily whispered.

“Sorry.”

“I need to go put my underwear on,” I hissed angrily at Mike before turning and smiling at Tony, “Excuse me for a moment.”

I headed toward the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub trying not to die from embarrassment. I put my underwear back on and tried to make my cleavage less noticeable before heading back out.

“So what’s for dinner?” I asked.

“Roast chicken, scalloped potatoes, salad, and tiramisu for dessert.” Mike said moving my chair out so I could sit down at the dinner table.

I turned to Tony, “I just want to apologize for earlier.”

“Oh, please, it’s completely fine. Like it never happened, yeah?”

Over dinner Mike introduced me to Tony. They’ve been friends since middle school and they work at the same firehouse. Tony comes from a big Italian family and has a hearty laugh. He’s super laid back and likes to tell embarrassing stories about Mike.

“Hey, you haven’t met his parents yet, have you?”

“Uh, no, not yet…we’ve talked about it, though.”

“Just wait until you see his room.”

“Why? What’s in his room.”

“Oh just you wait.”

“Dude…” Mike said as if Tony was betraying him.

After dessert and some more conversation, Tony left and Mike got frisky.

“I have to go to work in less than an hour.” I said as he trailed kisses down my neck.

“I can work with that.”He said heavily.

“Um. No.”

Mike pulled away.

“What!? Why? You practically jumped me when I opened the door earlier.”

“Exactly. I’m still mad at you. Why couldn’t you have just told me you wanted me to have dinner with you and your friend? You had to have known I would have though surprise equals sex at this point.”

“It was kind of funny.” Mike said breaking into a sexy smile and starting to kiss me again.

“No. Nope!” I said pushing him away, “I’m mad at you, you don’t get to weasel out of tricking me by being a cute boyfriend.”

“So you think I’m cute?” He said wiggling his eyebrows.

I started laughing and Mike started tickling me. But then I really did need to head to work.

“Did you bring a change of clothes?”

“No. And in hindsight…I would not have worn this but I figured it would have been worth it after I had hot sex with my boyfriend. I’ll just get A LOT of tips tonight.”

Mike laughed and then gave me a kiss good bye before I left for work.

When I got to work, Cara whistled.

“That for the new boyfriend?” She asked.

“Yes.” I sighed.

It was a slow night but I got a lot of tips (not surprising considering what I was wearing). Cara and I were sitting around the bar waiting for people to order more drinks and talking.

“So you guys haven’t had sex yet?”

“No.” I said, “We’ve been trying but the timing just hasn’t been right. Things just keep interrupting us. Like, I was called to work right when we were getting naked one time.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to listen to this.” Brad said coming up behind me.

“Sorry. How’s Angel.”

“She’s…fine.” He went to go get some more grenadine from the stockroom.

“I think he and Angel are on the rocks.” Cara whispered.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I overheard him arguing with someone on the phone, it sounded like she wants to see other people.”

“Ouch.”

“I know.”

I decided to keep the boyfriend talk to a minimum the rest of the night. Instead, I told Cara about getting picked up for the holiday show and asked her about her boyfriend and school. Apparently she’s thinking about going to grad school.

When I got home after closing, Murphy was very clingy. I feel bad; I’ve been neglecting him a bit. I gave him a belly rub and promised to brush him on my next day off on the balcony.

Mixed Up

Mike and I went out for lunch together and then ended up back at his place. I wore my sexy underwear just in case we would have sex.

“So…I kind of want to ask you something, but I don’t want you to freak out, okay?”

We were sitting on his couch, making out.

“Um…okay?” I said pulling away to look at him.

“I…I want you to meet my parents.”

I was shocked.

“W-wha-we haven’t been dating that….r-really?”

“You’re freaking out.”

“Yeah.”

“Look, my parents live in town, they have a family dinner once a week, it’s not a formal thing, I swear. I go every week. We’ll just go to their house, hang out for a few hours, eat my mom’s cooking, and go home. You love my mom’s lasagna so I know you’ll love the food. They’re very friendly people.”

“That’s…really….that’s a big step.” I said.

“Look, just…just think about it, okay? No pressure, just…when you’re ready.”

“O-okay,” I said, “This was not what I thought we’d be doing when you invited me back here.” I tried to make a joke.

“Oh, well, I figured that would happen, too.” Mike smiled and started kissing me again.

“Would you be willing to meet some friends of mine?” Mike asked, breaking his kiss.

“THAT, I can do. You met my friends, so it’s time I met yours.” I started kissing him again.

We made our way to Mike’s bedroom, I took off his shirt and he started unbuttoning my jeans before he pressed his body on top of mine and suddenly stopped.

“Uh, your crotch is…vibrating.” He said out of breath.

I reached my hand down into my pocket and pulled out my phone.  It was Eddie.

All of my energy went out of me as I let out an angry sigh.

“UGH! We are NEVER going to have sex, are we?” I said to no one, “I really have to answer this.”

Mike rolled off of me and I put the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hi Faith, we’ve got an emergency.”

“What happened?”

“Joe’s wife is in emergency surgery, she collapsed at work and apparently it’s something with her heart.”

“Oh, that’s terrible, is Joe okay? Do they know anything yet?”

“Joe is holding up and I don’t think they know anything yet but here’s the problem: we’re supposed to get the lumber order for the show today and the delivery people are going to be at the shop in 30 minutes but no one is going to be there to sign for it. I need you to get to the theatre and sign for the order, okay?”

“Okay, I’m leaving now.”

I hung up the phone, zipped up my pants, and looked sadly at Mike.

“I’m sorry.” I said.

“It’s fine, go. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“I just have to sign for it, so I should be back in an hour.”

“Well,” Mike said running a finger up my arm, “You could come back and we could continue this then?”

“Deal,” I said smiling.

I rolled on top of him and gave him a deep kiss before heading out.

I met the delivery men just in time and was about to sign for the order when Joe called me.

“Hey, Joe, how are you? How’s your wife?”

“Hi, Faith, thanks for helping me out. She’s still in surgery. Look, I need you to sign for the order after they’ve unloaded it into the shop, okay?”

“Okay.” I said. Internally I was annoyed because I knew that would take longer but the guy’s wife was having emergency surgery and my sex life wasn’t important in the grand scheme of things.

I told the delivery men that I needed them to unload it before I’d sign for it. They groaned but started moving stuff off the truck.

Mike was sending me dirty text messages the whole time so I wasn’t paying attention to what was being placed in the shop. When I looked up there were bright yellow set pieces, one looked like a pyramid, another was a giant sparkly sun. Not exactly the kind of stuff you’d expect for The Christmas Carol.

“What is this!?” I said to the guys that were currently moving a giant Egyptian statue into our loading dock.

“Whaddaya mean?”

“This CAN’T be our order.” I said. I immediately dialed Joe, “Joe, this order is wrong! Do you have the purchase order anywhere in the theatre?”

Joe told me where to find it in his desk and I brought it over to the guy in charge of the delivery so he could double check the order number.

“Yeah, welp, this ain’t the right order, lemme call my boss.”

He was on his phone for 20 minutes before he came over to me.

“So, there’s been a mix-up. We gotta truck on the other side of town with your order; it’s being redirected to here. Sorry ‘bout that. We’ll get this stuff outta here right away.”

I sighed and called Mike.

“So…I’m going to be REALLY late.”

“Oh.”

“There was a huge mishap and I have to sort it out. I’m sorry, Mike. I should be home by…eight, maybe?”

“Oh, Faith, I have to get to the station by 7 for my shift tonight.”

I sighed.

“Hey, we’ll just…figure something else out, okay?”

“Okay.” I said sadly.

I said goodbye and angrily settled in for the right delivery truck to arrive. It took three hours for them to get there, unload  everything, and get the paperwork for me to sign. The good news, though, is that Joe’s wife made it through surgery and is on the mend.

Friends Will Be Friends

The girls and I were having lunch on Saturday. I had just told them about the incident with Mike and Molly walking in on us and they were dying from laughter. Molly was bright red.

“I’m still so sorry.” She said.

“It’s really my fault, Molly. I need to stop having sex on couches. I mean this is, like, the third time this has happened so…”

“Geez, the THIRD time!?” Anna said.

“I guess I just like couches.” I shrugged. Molly laughed and looked more comfortable.

Our food came (I had a French Dip, Anna had a turkey club, Molly had a Rueben, and Zoey had a meatball sub. All of us had fries on the side and lemonades) and we continued the conversation after digging in.

“I don’t get it, what’s the big deal? Why can’t Molly be there? Or why can’t you guys go to his place?”

“Mike insisted we do it at my place so I would feel more comfortable, and, to be honest, being at my place does make me feel more comfortable. I can’t explain why, I think it’s a safety thing, you know? Like how many times are we told not to go to strange men’s homes? I know I know Mike much better than a stranger and that I have certainly hooked up with dudes at their places before but…still. And it’s not that Molly can’t be there, I mean, we live together so that would be an unrealistic expectation to expect her to leave every time either one of us brought someone home, I think Mike just kind of wants our first time to not have anyone around, you know?”

“And I also don’t want to be there for your guys’ first time, so I’m not complaining.” Molly said, “You guys should have that moment together and not next door to me.”

“Have you guys not been able to have sex since then?” Anna asked, surprised.

“No,” I said sadly, “I started my period and sex is pretty much the last thing I want to do right now.”

The girls all made understanding commiserations.

“So what are we doing for your birthday this year, Faith?” Zoey asked.

“I haven’t really thought about it.” I said, “I think I just want a quiet night in, nothing big. I don’t even think I want cake.”

“What!? No cake!?” Molly said dramatically.

“I don’t know, I’m just…I’m not feeling like celebrating this year, I guess. Maybe we can all just go see a movie or something.”

“Aw, that’s so lame, Faith!” Anna said.

“I know, but this year has been so…exhausting, I just want to put it behind me. I mean, Sean and I broke up and then I started dating a bunch of random dudes and then I cheated on Randy. Then Sean and I…we….well, I don’t know quite what we were doing but then we stopped seeing each other, I went on that abysmal date with Brad, I lost my job, my apartment burned down, I thought Murphy died…it’s just been a whole year of bad and I want to forget about it.”

“But there were good things, too, Faith.” Zoey said, “You got Murphy back, you got to have Molly as a roommate, you started a new career, and you met Mike. That’s not anything to sneeze at. Besides, wiping the slate clean is supposed to be a New Year’s thing, not a birthday thing. At least let us take you out for some dessert or something.”

“Let’s take her to a strip club.” Molly joked.

“Just think about it, Faith. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, but we should do SOMETHING.” Anna said.

We went shoe shopping after lunch but then Anna had to go relieve the babysitter and Zoey had to go pick Wesley up from the airport (he was on an out-of-town shoot) so Molly and I went home. It was a really relaxing day. I don’t think I’ve realized quite how busy I’ve been with Mike and my two jobs and volunteering at the animal shelter…I really needed a day of just fun and friends.

Out of the Blue

Mike and I had dinner before I invited him to my apartment. We had a nice time at the restaurant talking and eating but I think both of us knew exactly where this night was headed once we got done with dinner. When the check came, I could barely wait to get Mike into my apartment and jump his bones before the door even shut.

“So…” I said as we walked out of the restaurant.

“Can we go to your place?” Mike asked very quickly.

“Oh my God, YES.” I said and rushed to the curb to hail a cab.

Truthfully, Mike and I couldn’t wait to get to my apartment; we were making out in the back of the cab almost immediately. The driver cleared his throat when we got to our destination. We scrambled out and Mike paid for the cab before both of us ran to the lobby door of my apartment complex and then to the elevators. The making out continued in the elevator, down my hallway, and while I was unlocking my door.

As soon as we were over the threshold, I was unbuttoning Mike’s shirt and kicking off my shoes. He took off my jacket and unzipped my dress before pulling it down off of my shoulders and kissing down my neck to my chest. I moaned lightly and rubbed the front of his pants before unzipping them. We eventually ended up on the couch. I was straddling him with just my (very sexy) underwear on and he only had his boxers on when the lights suddenly turned on and I heard a scream.

“I AM SO SORRY, OH MY GOD! SO SO SO SO SO SORRY!” Molly screamed as she ran into her bedroom.

Mike had stood up when the lights turned on and in the process knocked me off his lap. I ended up pinned between the couch and the coffee table with my ass on the ground.

“MY HOTLINE SHIFT WAS CANCELLED SO I DECIDED TO COME STRAIGHT HOME. I’M SO SORRY. I SENT YOU A TEXT. OH GOD.” Molly was yelling from her bedroom and sounded really freaked out.

I probably would have been, too, if I walked in while Molly and Calvin were going at it on the couch.

Mike helped me get up and we awkwardly put our clothes back on in silence. Once clothed, I felt the need to break the silence.

“I, uh, guess we’re just going to watch a movie tonight instead.” I said laughing out of being mortified.

“That’s fine. Is…is Molly going to be okay?” Mike asked.

She was still yelling apologies.

“Yeah. Can I invite her to watch the movie with us?”

“Sure, the…the more the merrier.” He said. He sat down on the couch and covered up his very obvious erection with a throw pillow before giving me the go ahead to open Molly’s door.

“I AM SO SORRY FAITH ARE YOU SUPER MAD AT ME?” She said.

She was curled up on her bed and rocking back and forth.

“It’s okay, MOLLY. IT’S. O-KAY.” I said.

She lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Did I just ruin THE night?”

“You didn’t ruin anything. Come watch a movie with us, okay? I know you’re probably starving. At least come out and get something for dinner.”

Molly nodded and microwaved some leftover Chinese. I got Mike and I some ice cream and coffee before I changed into my pajamas.

Watching the movie together was actually not as awkward as I thought it would be. Mike made Molly feel comfortable and we all had a great time. When Molly went to bed, Mike decided to go back to his place, too.

“Thank you for being so understanding about…everything. I am really sorry things didn’t work out the way we wanted them to.” I told him as I walked him to our door.

“It’s fine. We said we’d just let it happen, right? Tonight was just not the night, I guess.”

“You’re so sweet.” I said. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a deep kiss good bye.

I’m kind of bummed that Mike and I didn’t have sex but Mike is right, it just wasn’t the night. It’ll happen when it happens, although, if I had my preference it would happen, like, NOW.

Spree

Zoey and I went shopping together so I could spend my final half of my stipend from the show on some new clothes. My wardrobe has been pretty sad ever since the fire, Anna and Zoey helped out by giving me the clothes they get from work every now and then but I’m still missing a lot. I bought three pairs of shoes (I’ve mostly just borrowed shoes from Molly since I moved in and before today, I only had two pairs of shoes so this was a necessary purchase), a few dresses and t-shirts, a couple pairs of jeans, and a professional suit. Most of the stuff I bought was black so it can do double duty for being nice clothing while also appropriate for working backstage.

I officially signed another contract with Eddie to be the stage manager for the holiday show. We open November 9th and the auditions are in two weeks and I’m going to be responsible for running them. For the last show, the cast was already assembled since the stage manager walked out halfway through the rehearsal process.  I’m hoping it will be a smooth production.

I told Zoey about the new opportunity and she demanded tickets. We were at our last stop of the day: a lingerie store.

“I don’t have a ton of sexy underwear so I think it’s time to stock up.” I said.

“And so you can buy something to rev up Mike’s engine.”

“Yeah, that too.” I sighed.

Mike and I have gone out a few times since I load out and no sex has happened, I think he’s afraid of being rejected again. But we have a date coming up and I am SO ready for the sex to happen, hence my trip to the lingerie shop.

“What about this?” I said holding up a black lace teddy.

“Well, that depends…is Mike a lace guy? Does he like red? Or silk? Or sheer?” Zoey held up a bunch of options.

“I don’t know.” I said with an air of disappointment, “It seems like Mike’s lingerie preferences are the only thing we haven’t talked about when it comes to sex.”

“Hmm. When in doubt, go for the thigh-high fishnets, teensy thong, and lacy bra.” She said piling up my arms with the items as she ticked them off.

“Really? You think this’ll do it?”

“Yeah. The thing about guys is that they might like a certain kind of lingerie on you but it doesn’t matter if it’s not their preferred garment, it’s going to end up on the floor anyway.” She joked.

“You’re right.” I said and went to try everything on.

I bought some more things at the store, like, bras which I was in desperate need of, some underwear, and some new pajama pants.

We trekked back to Zoey’s car and then stopped for Chinese at a new restaurant near my apartment. It was nice to spend time with her. We don’t hang out as much as we used to but we’re both incredibly busy. We text each other and call each other a lot but I need more Zoey in my life and I told her so.

“I miss hanging out with you.” I said over my beef fried rice.

“Me too. Everything is just so busy.” She said.

“I think we should try to a weekly thing like we used to.”

“I would like that.” Zoey smiled and dug in her purse to get her phone so she could look at her schedule.

We decided that we’ll meet for brunch every Saturday and that we’ll invite Anna and Molly, too. I’m excited to hang out with my girls again. I also can’t wait to tell them about the night Mike and I finally have sex which will hopefully be tomorrow night.

Seal of Approval

Load out was abysmal. It lasted for nearly 10 hours and it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong. At first, it was going really well and we were set to be done in five hours but then everything went to hell.

A piece of the set wasn’t taken down correctly and while four of my crew members were working on it, it snapped and fell on two of them. I called an ambulance so they could be taken to the hospital. Then I called Eddie to tell him what happened. After that I had to have everyone who had been in the area sign a statement about what they saw happen so we could report it to the theatre’s insurance company. Eddie showed up to collect the paperwork and get more information about what happened. I also sent Mike a message telling him I didn’t know when I would be home but I would text him when I knew.

“They’ll both be okay. One has a broken leg and the other has a broken collarbone. I think it could have been a lot worse. I’m still not clear on WHY it happened, though. I think the instructions for it to be taken down might have been incorrect.” I said.

“Well, the important thing is that no one was seriously injured or killed. I’ve heard horror stories about crew members being killed by falling set pieces during load out and we definitely dodged a bullet tonight.” Eddie said.

The time we lost made load out even longer than I had wanted it to be but I’m just glad everyone will be okay.

“Faith, I’ll need you to go to the hospital and have our two guys fill out the paperwork about what happened, too.” Eddie told me as I was locking up the theatre once load out was finished.

“Okay.” I said.

“Also, I’m going to deposit the other half of your pay stipend for the show tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“One last thing, would you be willing to be the SM for our holiday show?”

“What?” I asked. I was taken aback. After how poorly load out went, I hadn’t expected Eddie to offer me another job.

“I’ll call you tomorrow and we can talk about the details.”

“O-okay.” I said still sort of confused.

Eddie bade me good night and I hailed a taxi so I could get to the hospital. In the cab, I sent Mike a text telling him I’d probably be home in about an hour. Once at the hospital I met up with my two crew members and had them fill out the necessary paperwork before finally settling in a cab on my way home for the night.

I walked into my apartment on the cusp of exhaustion and saw Mike waiting for me on the couch with a large pizza and a 6-pack of root beer on the coffee table. I smiled and then collapsed on the couch. Mike had Murphy purring on his lap; he was scratching him between his ears.

“Long day, huh?”

“You have NO idea.” I said rubbing Murphy’s chin. It was nice to know Murphy approves of my boyfriend.

I started stuffing my face full of pizza like my life depended on it and then began nursing a root beer. We were watching television but mostly I told Mike about everything that happened at load out.

“And then he offered me a job.” I said.

“Well, that’s good, though, right? I know you were worried about work once the show ended.”

“It is good but I didn’t expect it. Eddie said he’d call me tomorrow so we can talk details.”

“Are you going to take the job?”

“Probably. I’ve tasted extra income and I don’t want to go back!” I joked.

I snuggled up to Mike.

“Thank you for the dinner.” I said, “It was perfect.”

Mike put his arms around me and started kissing me. We ended up laying on the couch, he was on top of me and kissing my neck slowly.  I had my legs wrapped around his waist and my hands were around the back of his neck.

“Um. C-can we stop?” I asked.

Mike looked up.

“W-what?”

“It’s not you, I’m just really, REALLY tired. I don’t think I could…you know.”

“Oh. Okay, I understand. No problem.” He said getting up.

“I’m sorry.” I said, “I know we talked about having sex tonight and then decided to just let it happen but I’m just too tired to really be any fun tonight.” I said.

“That’s okay, Faith, I understand.”

Mike started rubbing my feet and I fell asleep within minutes. Before he left, Mike kissed my forehead and put a blanket over me. He woke me up when he kissed me.

“Hey.” I said sleepily.

“I’m just heading out, okay? I put the leftover pizza and soda in the fridge, I’ll call you when I get out of work and we’ll do something to celebrate your new job.”

“Okay.” I said before falling asleep again.

I woke up on the couch with Murphy laying on my head. I feel bad about rejecting Mike for sex but, to be honest, I was worried I’d fall asleep during it. I was THAT tired.

Sexy Talk

“So, what exactly do you do at load out?” Mike asked me over dinner.

“I have to supervise the take down of everything. So, the set will be taken apart and pieces we want to keep will be stored, then the lights will be taken down from the fly system and put away along with all the cables they’re connected to. The dressing rooms are all cleared out and the costumes are put back into our storage room. Finally, we’ll clean the stage. It’s going to be a looooong day.” I said.

“And this happens right after the last show ends?”

“Yep.” I said letting out a big sigh. I have always hated load outs, even in college.

“Well, how long does it usually take?” He asked.

“My crew is really good so probably, like, 5 hours, maybe 6?”

“Maybe I could come over and make you dinner afterward.”

“I would really like that. Maybe we could also…have sex?” I blushed.

Mike started choking.

“Oh.” He said once he recovered, “Um. I…I guess we could. Will Molly be there?”

“No. It’s her mom’s birthday and she’s leaving right after the show to go to Michigan to visit. She’ll be gone until Saturday.”

Mike got up to get us more wine.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I said coming up behind him and wrapping my arms around him.

He turned around.

“I want to, I just…I don’t know…I want it to be perfect for you. For us. It’s supposed to be special and romantic, having sex for the first time.”

“I think that’s sweet,” I kissed him, “But it doesn’t have to be perfect. We’ll have lots of chances to have perfect, great sex. It’s just the first time, Mike, it’s not the last time. Trust me.”

I winked.

“Should I get anything for it?” He asked.

“Well you’re already making me dinner.” I laughed.

“No, I meant, like…for the sex part.”

“Oh, you mean like condoms?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“You can. I’m on the pill but we should probably use condoms, too. I have some at my apartment, but if you prefer a certain kind you should probably get some.”

We sat on his couch with our wine.

“I think this is the most honest conversation I’ve ever had about sex before.” I said.

“You didn’t talk about this stuff with your ex-fiancé?” He asked.

“Um. We had a lot of problems in the sex area and he never wanted to talk about it.”

“Oh.”

“But, I’m glad you’re okay with talking about it.” I said.

“Can I be honest about something?” He asked.

“Of course.”

“Planning it makes me kind of nervous…”

“Oh. Well, we can just let it happen. We don’t have to plan for it if that makes you uncomfortable.”

He put his wine glass down and shifted on the couch so he could face me better.

“It’s just that I think about all the ways it could go wrong or if it’s not good for you or it makes things weird-”

“I understand.” I said, “And I really appreciate how open you’re being about this. I am more than happy to just let it happen when it happens.”

Mike looked relieved which prompted me to ask him something that hadn’t occurred to me before.

“Are you not ready to have sex, yet?” I asked gently, “It’s okay if you aren’t.”

“No, I am, I just…I guess I’m just worried you won’t enjoy it and then things will be weird between us.”

“Mike, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. But if I don’t, it’s not going to make me want to end our relationship; I’ll just need to communicate more about what I like. It’s not a big deal. And I have the same performance anxiety as you. We’ll both be just as nervous as the other. It’s okay.”

“You’re right.” He said.

We ended up watching a movie, although I have no idea what it was about because I spent about 98% of it making out with Mike and enjoying some heavy petting. I went home at about 11.

“I’m going to leave a spare key in my mailbox so you can get in before I get home from load out, okay?” I said heading to the door. I wrote down the combination to my mailbox and Mike kissed me.

“Okay, what do you want for dinner?” He asked standing at the door.

“Hmmmm, after load out I’d always just grab a pizza and some root beer. It was a tradition. But that’s so lame for a romantic date, maybe you could make that lasagna again?”

“Okay.” He said smiling.

“Thank you.” I said giving him a hug and another kiss.

“For what?” He asked pulling apart slightly.

“For being such an awesome boyfriend.” I said.

I kissed him one last time before leaving and he sent me a text to make sure I got home okay. I can’t wait for him to meet Murphy for the first time on Wednesday!

(Author's Note: The 7th is the third year anniversary for this blog! Can you believe it's been around for so long?)